For any small business, marketing must be a top priority. Reaching people by regular email newsletters helps to build brand awareness, amplify promotions, share infographics and essential information, and establish relationships with potential and existing customers.
If starting an email newsletter sounds like a daunting task, here’s a closer look at why it’s worth it and how you can get started.
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Benefits of an Email Newsletter
Many marketing tools are available for small businesses, and an email newsletter is one of the best of them. If you don’t have an endless budget, email marketing can bring a lot of impact for a small amount of money and effort.
Increases Engagement
Establishing a regular email newsletter can increase public engagement. Consider the newsletter as a way of checking in and conversing with potential and existing customers.
Customers will expect to see your newsletter every week, month, or seasonally, so they will know to look out for new product information, sales and promotions, and special events. Seeing your company’s branding regularly helps to establish brand recognition and builds trust and credibility with your target audience. You may also see an increase in new leads as newsletter subscribers share information with friends and family.
Spreads Information
An email newsletter can get the information your company wishes to share directly in front of many eyes. One way of communicating essential data or information is to create an infographic. An infographic is a tool for conveying complex data or information in an easy-to-understand visual format. Email newsletters are a great way to share infographics with potential customers. You can post infographics into a newsletter to help to add visual interest and additional content.
In order to get the word out on time-sensitive or seasonal sales and promotions, a newsletter is one of the best options available. People have gotten used to finding sales information in newsletters and will be on the lookout for great deals.
Make More Conversions
When sending promotional emails to your newsletter list, include a clear call to action. If your viewers can do something simple like “click to buy” or “sign up now,” you’ll likely see a significant increase in conversion rates.
Newsletters can also be targeted to customers depending on their interests. This is another way of increasing conversions, as specific products and promotions reach those more likely to buy.
Inexpensive Marketing
An email newsletter is a very cost-effective marketing tool. You should see the time and money spent developing a newsletter come back to you many times over. For small businesses just beginning a marketing strategy, free email platforms are available to assist with design and distribution.
Getting Started
1. Build an Email List
There is no use in creating effective email newsletters if you don’t have engaged customers to send them to. The best email lists are made up of customers who have opted into email marketing. You want to reach out to existing and potential customers interested in what you offer.
One of the easiest ways to collect emails is to put a sign-up form on the homepage of your website. It will be easy for visitors to see this and respond to it. Consider creating social media campaigns with a newsletter sign-up call to action. If your company or organization holds in-person events, this is another great place to pick up email addresses.
2. Choose a Platform
You may want to consider a free email newsletter platform when starting out. You can organize email addresses into a spreadsheet and send newsletters through your company’s email platform, such as Gmail or Outlook.
However, once you have a substantial list and regular emails, you will want to invest in specialized email marketing software. These programs allow you to format and style your newsletter, target campaigns to specific audiences, and schedule delivery. Most email marketing platforms will also keep track of and analyze success metrics.
3. Tap into your Creativity
Email marketing is one part of creative content marketing. Simply reaching an audience will only go so far in encouraging conversions and generating leads. You will need to flex your creative muscles or hire creative staff to focus on newsletters.
An effective email newsletter will include an attention-grabbing subject line. Getting the subject line right may take a lot of practice and can be improved with A/B testing. A concise and convincing headline is what encourages people to open your email. Consider personalizing the subject by including the recipient’s name.
As a newsletter is a marketing piece, it should include your organization’s branding, including the logo and brand colors. To add visual interest and get across a lot of information, you could share infographics in the body of your newsletter.
Even if your small business already has a vibrant marketing strategy, you may be missing out on a lot of conversion potential if you’re not using email newsletters. Creating regular email marketing is easier and less expensive than you may have thought. Start the email marketing process today and develop stronger, lasting relationships with your existing and future customers.